


"It Has Been Quite a Day, Has it Not?"

by soongtypeprincess



Series: Sophie [7]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Children, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Interspecies Relationship(s), Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 04:40:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2297018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soongtypeprincess/pseuds/soongtypeprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sophie does not have a very good day, taking one emotional hit after another...until she discovers her own bit of courage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Urgency

**Author's Note:**

> Edited: 11/2015
> 
> I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS EXCEPT SOPHIE!

Sophie’s tiny legs dangled over her booster seat that rested in one of the chairs at the table where a warm bowl of oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon sugar was sitting. Her little heels bounced against the seat of the chair as she took her spoon and stirred it around freely in her breakfast as she made whirring noises.

She lifted a heaping spoonful and leaned forward making fish lips as she brought the spoon to her, and the oatmeal fell with a splat onto the table. She giggled as she returned the spoon to her bowl, but the bowl was suddenly scooted away from her by Geordi as he wiped up the small mass of spilled oatmeal.

“I'm eating like a fish!” she announced, puckering her lips again.

He smiled. “Eat like a big girl, please,” he softly told her.

“Yes, Daddy,” she mumbled as her bowl was returned to her. She took a small spoonful, looked at it and, with a bored sigh, put it in her mouth where she slowly chewed it. She put down the spoon and grabbed her glass of milk with both hands and took three big gulps. “All done!” she announced as she raised her hands.

“You only had one bite, Miss,” he chuckled. 

“I’m full,” she whined and slumped back in her booster seat.

“Four more bites,” Geordi said. “Can you do that for me?”

Sophie threw her head back, dramatically, and groaned. "Fish don't eat oatmeal."

“Young lady,” came her father’s warning.

“Okay…” She brought up the courage to swallow a few more half-spoonfuls, and when she was done, she took another gulp of milk and raised her hands.

“Good job!” Geordi praised as he wiped her hands with a cloth. He lifted her out of her seat and set her on the floor. “Go brush your teeth and we can leave.”

“We’re going to see Aunt Deanna?” she said.

“Later, honey. You have school first.” 

She pursed her lips like a fish again and put her hands together in front of her, wriggling them like a fin. She went into her washroom where Data was laying out her sonic toothbrush. Next to that, he placed a small cup with water in it to help her rinse.

Sophie “swam” around him, and Data looked down at her with a curious gaze. 

“You are a fish,” he stated, casually.

She nodded as she continued circling his legs until he suddenly lifted her off the floor, making her squeal with laughter as he set her on her stool in front of the sink. 

Data picked up her hairbrush as she began to brush her teeth. Before he could run it through her thick locks, she stopped him. “Daddy, I would like my hair down today, please.”

He tilted his head, looking somewhat dismayed. “You do not want a pretty bow?” She shook her head briskly as she brushed her teeth. When she was done, she carefully rinsed her mouth with water from her cup.

Data shrugged. “Very well. It is as you please.” He put down her hairbrush and gently pinched her cheek.

Sophie then turned on her stool and jumped off, folding her hands in front of her again, but Data spun her back around to him and wiped the remaining water from her lips with a towel.

“I will see you after school, Sophie,” he said.

She made her fish lips at him and he imitated her by making his own, causing her to erupt with shrill laughter. He grinned and quickly kissed her cheek. 

“Have a good day,” he whispered, and she “swam” out of the washroom.

Soon, Geordi was leading her to class. “Be a good girl today, okay?” he said. “Daddy will come get you and take you to play in the holodeck after school and then we’ll go see the counselor.”

Sophie looked down at her feet with a sullen expression.

Geordi furrowed his brow. “Hey, what’s wrong, baby?”

She looked at him again with sad, glistening eyes. “Can Captain Picard fix stuff?”

“What do you mean, sweetie?”

She looked down again and rubbed her hands, nervously. “Well, you and Daddy fix stuff. Can Captain Picard fix stuff, too?”

Geordi sighed. He knew what she was referring to, and although she didn’t quite know all the details just yet, he knew she had a feeling that things may change for them soon.

“Baby,” he said, taking her hand. “It’s the captain’s duty to fix the bad things.”

Sophie smirked and nodded.

Geordi smiled. “Hey, you don’t need to worry about that right now, okay? You have a good day, and I’ll see you later.”

Sophie put her arms around his neck and he squeezed her in a loving embrace. She soon released her grip and he watched her run over to Ms. Gladstone where she took her hand to lead her inside.

Geordi walked to the nearest turbo lift where it opened to reveal Lt. Barclay.

They gave each other a small smile.

“Hey, Reg,” Geordi greeted, quietly.

“Good morning, Commander.”

The turbo lift doors closed and there was an awkward silence between them. Geordi noticed that Barclay was timidly glancing at him. “If you have something to say, Reg…please feel free.”

The lieutenant was slightly taken aback by his commander’s austere tone, but he cleared his throat and plucked up a bit of nerve. “I hope that…everything goes well, sir.”

Geordi looked at him. “What do you mean, Reg?”

Barclay turned to him. “With the hearing on Earth, sir. I am hoping it all goes smoothly and that…Sophie can stay.” 

Geordi noticed that his voice slightly choked at the end of his blessing, and he nodded. “Thank you. You know, she adores her Uncle Reg, especially after you showed her how to configure the replicators to blow bubbles into the corridor.” He paused to laugh. “The look on Worf’s face when he wanted to issue a Red Alert.”

Reg grinned, feeling more at ease. “I recall that the captain wasn’t so pleased. Thank you for covering for us and saying that it was an encryption failure.”

They shared another laugh and after it died down, Barclay said, “We all wish you and Commander Data the best.”

Geordi’s eyes burned but he sniffed back the tears. “We both appreciate it.”

Hours later, Geordi was monitoring the warp core’s output while reviewing an ensign’s maintenance report on a PADD when his communicator badge erupted with Data’s voice. 

“Commander LaForge!”

Geordi set down the PADD as he tapped his badge. “Geordi here. What is it, Data?”

“Come to sick bay immediately.”

“Why? What is it?”

“Sophie has been injured.”

“What?!” Geordi rushed over to Barclay. “Reg! Take over!” Geordi was already rushing out of Engineering before Barclay could answer him.

Meanwhile, Data was in a turbo lift holding Sophie as she gripped the collar of his uniform with her face in his shoulder as she loudly sobbed.

“It is all right, little one,” he comforted her as he patted her back. “You are going to see Dr. Crusher.”

“It hurts, Daddy!” she yelled. Her pearl pink outfit was slightly torn on the right leg and was dingy with red clay.

“I know it does. You will feel better soon.” The turbo lift doors opened and Data darted down the corridor and was soon through the doors of sickbay where they were greeted by Lt. Ogawa.

“Oh my,” she exclaimed when she heard Sophie’s screaming. “What happened, Commander?”

“We were in the holodeck,” Data said. “Sophie was climbing and she fell and injured herself. She needs immediate attention.”

Ogawa nodded. “Of course! Take Bed Three and I’ll get Dr. Crusher.”

“Thank you,” Data said as he walked to the assigned table and set Sophie upon it. “We will wait here for the doctor, sweetheart.”

“Daddy, no!” she cried out as she reached for him.

“Sophie, you must sit here and wait,” he quietly ordered her.

“Daddy, please!!” she begged again.

He leaned in and whispered, “Behave yourself, little one.”

“Daddy!” She put her face in her hands and sobbed louder, and Data looked toward the door to see a few ensigns glancing at him, but no sign of Geordi. 

He sighed. “All right.” He picked her up once more and sat on the bed, letting Sophie rest her face against his chest. 

“Shhhh…” he calmed her as he rocked his body back and forth. Her crying was softening to a meek whimper as Data rubbed her back. “You will be fine, my love,” he whispered before giving her a small kiss on the top of her head.

Geordi soon arrived in sickbay to find Dr. Crusher and Data standing over a bed, and his heart dropped. “Shit,” he muttered to himself as he briskly walked toward them. 

“I’m here,” he announced as he stepped next to his husband and looked down at Sophie who was sitting on the edge and slowly swaying her legs. He put his hand on her head. “Are you okay, honey?” he asked her.

She sniffed and nodded, her wet, red eyes gazing up at him.

Geordi looked at the doctor. “Beverly. Is she going to be okay?”

Beverly pursed her lips as she looked from him to Data. “Oh, she’ll live, I think, Commander,” she replied. “I don’t recall anyone going into a coma over a scraped knee.”

She walked away with a grin as Geordi’s mouth dropped and he turned to Data. “A scraped knee? That was it?”

Data looked surprised at his husband’s reaction. “She hurt herself, Geordi. I think that is, in essence, enough.”

“Honey, you made it sound like she broke her neck or something! My heart was racing as I came down here. And then I saw you and Dr. Crusher…I mean, my God!”

“She was bleeding, Geordi,” Data reprimanded him, as if his response was barbaric. “Her injury needed attention.”

“Data, you don’t get it. I was scared something really bad happened to her. She just—“

“Something bad did happen to her,” the android rejoined firmly. “You talk as if an injury to our child is trivial. She was in pain!”

“It isn’t trivial, Data, but this particular kind isn’t an emergency!”

They halted their bickering when they heard sniffling from their daughter, who had been watching the whole scene. She had fresh tears in her eyes and she pouted her lip. “I’m sorry…” she sniveled.

Geordi sighed and looked at Data, who grimaced at him ashamedly. 

“Hey, baby,” Geordi told her, reaching out and picking her up from the bed. “It isn’t your fault. You just had an accident.” He kissed her cheek and moved a strand of hair from her face as he looked at Data again. “I’m sorry I yelled at Daddy.”

Data approached them and put his arm around his husband’s waist. “I am sorry, as well.”

Sophie rested her chin on Geordi’s shoulder and sighed. “Well…” she muttered. “It didn’t really hurt so bad.” She lifted herself to look at him. “And…and I don’t think I fell too hard…”

Geordi and Data looked at one another and grinned, knowing that she was trying to make them both feel better.

Geordi patted her back. “That’s my tough girl. Maybe later Uncle Worf can teach you how to use a bat’leth.”

Data’s eyes widened with shock. “Geordi, she is too young! “

“You’re right,” he replied. “A mek’leth is more her size.” Geordi started to walk out of sick bay and Sophie giggled as Data followed them with a fretful countenance.

“I will not allow this!” Data’s uneasy tone echoed from the corridor and back into sick bay where the ensigns were having their own laugh.


	2. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie speaks to Counselor Troi.

“Sophie, why don’t you sit over here and draw something for me?” 

Counselor Troi motioned to a small table near a corner in her office and Sophie grinned as she eagerly rushed over and hopped into a chair. Troi put a few crayons and a small stack of blank paper in front of her.

Geordi and Data watched from the sofa as Sophie sorted through her drawing materials and began to sketch. Troi sat across from her.

“Tell me what you’re drawing,” she said in a sweet tone.

“It’s me…as a fish,” Sophie whispered.

“A fish? What kind of fish?”

“A purple fish…with stripes.”

Data placed his hands on his lap. “She is a fish today, Counselor.”

Troi smiled at them as Geordi explained. “She’s been a different animal for the past three days. Yesterday, she was a puppy. The day before, she was a screech rhino.”

Troi laughed. “A screech rhino?”

“Yes,” Data confirmed, flatly. “It was not a quiet night.”

“Well,” Troi added, looking at Sophie. “Hopefully, this particular fish won’t be so noisy.” There was a pause between them before Troi propped up a PADD that had been resting next to her on the table. “Sophie, I’m going to show you a picture, okay?”

“Mm-hmm…” Sophie murmured, still drawing.

“Manners,” came Geordi’s calm command.

Sophie quickly sat up straight, but continued drawing. “Yes, ma’am.”

Troi glanced at Geordi before bringing a photograph onto the screen. The engineer bit his lip as Data put a comforting hand on his husband’s thigh.

It was a picture of his sister, Ariana.

“Do you know who this is, Sophie?”

Sophie raised her eyes, took a quick look, and went back to adding bubbles around her purple fish. “That’s Mommy.”

Geordi grinned as Troi continued. “How do you know your mother?”

“Daddy tells me about her sometimes.”

“What does he tell you?” 

Sophie put down her crayons and concentrated on the picture of Ariana. “He says I have her eyes…and her chin…and…that she loved me very much.”

“Who is your mother to your father?” Troi asked, motioning to Geordi.

Without missing a beat, Sophie replied, “She was Daddy’s sister. He’s my uncle, but I call him Daddy now because…” She paused and thought for a moment and shrugged, coolly. “Well…because he adopted me.”

“What about your other father?”

Sophie looked at Data, who gave her a small grin. “Well, he adopted me, too.” She was quiet a moment before looking back at Troi. “Aunt Deanna? Am I bad for having two daddies?”

Geordi sighed as Troi leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “No, darling. You’re not bad,” she said. “Why do you say that?”

Sophie was now getting restless and leaned back in her chair and began to play with her fingers. Troi could sense her tension and rose from her seat to retrieve a tiny teddy bear that was resting on a bookshelf. She handed it to Sophie before sitting down again.

Sophie took a deep breath and squeezed the bear to her chest. “Some of my friends…think I’m weird, that's all. Aunt Deanna?”

“Yes, honey?” Troi replied.

“Captain Picard said someone else has, uh...paternity over me? That means he's my real daddy, right?"

Troi glanced at the engineers, noticing that Geordi now had leaned forward onto his knees and was looking down at the floor while Data had his hand on his back.

“That is what we've been told so far, Sophie,” Troi said. “But we are not entirely sure if it’s true.”

“Why does he want to be my daddy now? Where was he before?”

“We're not sure, but, it is likely that he will want to take you to live with him.”

“For how long?” Sophie whimpered.

Troi paused before answering. “Indefinitely. Do you know what that means?”

“Forever?”

Troi nodded and a sudden knot arose in her stomach as Sophie’s eyes began to fill with tears. 

“But…but…” Sophie sputtered. “But I don’t want to. I want to stay here.”

“We want you to stay, as well,” Troi told her as she moved her chair around the table to be closer to her. “That’s why we’re on our way to Earth. You have to talk to a few people while we’re there.”

“Why?” 

“Well, they want to ask you questions.”

“Why?” 

Troi’s stomach pain was getting worse as Sophie’s tiny heart began to flutter in her chest. She took a deep breath. “Well, they want to know about your life on the Enterprise. What you do and they want to know about your daddies.”

“Why?”

Why, indeed? This was the counselor’s exact thought, as well. Why put a child in front of inquisitive strangers only to try to send her elsewhere with another one? Why tear apart a happy family just to settle issues of blood? 

Troi took another deep breath, not too sure of what to say until Data called out softly, “Sophie.”

His daughter looked at him as he motioned for her to come to him. She complied and walked to the sofa, the bear still clutched to her chest. He picked her up and set her on his knee as Geordi leaned back, watching them.

“Little one,” Data said, calmly. “I want you to listen to me.” Sophie nodded and leaned back into his chest. “There are certain people where we are going who do not agree with our kind of family, and they believe that you should live with what they would define as a normal family.”

Sophie piped up, stating, “But, Daddy. You said that people don’t think like that anymore.”

“Most people do not, sweetheart,” Data continued. “As for the man who is claiming actual paternity to you, I am sure that he only wants what is best…” Geordi huffed and crossed his arms, but Data resumed, “However, your father and I, as well as Counselor Troi and Captain Picard, will be debating this claim because we believe that you already have what is best for you.”

Sophie looked up at him, saying, “Then it can be over and I can stay on the Enterprise?”

Data smirked uneasily. “I am afraid it will not be that simple. You see…there are others who believe that I am not a fit parent because I am an android.”

“But you're sen-shee-ent!” Sophie whined. “I’ll tell them you’re a good daddy and—“

“It is possible that may not suffice as the council may not take your word as truth. I do not believe they feel that a child can make their own decisions about what they require.” 

They were silent as Troi still sat at the table, marveling over how easy it was for Data to be so straightforward with Sophie. 

It wasn’t just his incapability to lie. Troi knew it was also because of the fondness he showed over her well-being. It was because of this that Data was not going to hide anything from their daughter, even if it meant that it would make her cry, but he also knew that keeping the truth from her would hurt her even more.

“Do you understand?” Data whispered to her as Sophie stared ahead of her, her grip on the teddy bear relaxing.

She set the bear on the sofa beside her and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Yes…” she cried softly. “But…I don’t want to leave. I want to stay. It’s not fair…”

Geordi leaned forward and inched closer to them, wiping another tear off her cheek. “You need to give them honest answers,” he told her, his voice cracking. “No matter what they ask you. I know you can do it.”

“But what if…?”

“No, no,” Geordi stopped her. “We’re not going to worry about that now. Remember what I told you about the Captain?”

Sophie sniffed and sat up straight on Data’s knee. “It’s his duty to fix bad things.”

“Right, but behind every captain, is a brave crew member. He needs that in you, sweetie.” He forced a grin and stroked her chin. “We all do.”

She took a deep breath once more, wiped her face with the back of her hand, and nodded with a serious expression. “Yes, sir,” she declared, softly.

Troi smiled, somewhat relieved, and she stood from her chair and walked over to them. “I think we’re done for today.”

The engineers stood, Sophie being put onto the floor as she looked up at Counselor Troi. “Thank you, Aunt Deanna. You can keep my drawing.”

Troi reached down and stroked her hair. “Thank you, sweetheart. I'll see you later.”

Data took his daughter’s hand and they followed Geordi to the door, but Sophie stopped to look at her mother’s picture that was still frozen on the PADD at the table.

She looked up at Geordi, saying, “Mommy was pretty, huh?”

He gave her a big smile. “Just like you,” he replied. “How about we go have one of Guinan’s famous chocolate milks?”

They entered the corridor and headed to the turbo lift. Geordi looked down at Sophie, whose tiny hand was gripping Data’s pinky. Her tired face was streaked with wet smudges of wiped tears.

He smirked, saying, “You’ve had a hell of a day, haven’t you?”

Data raised a reproachful eyebrow at his husband’s choice of words, but seeing as how Sophie didn’t respond, he concluded that she didn’t notice.


	3. Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie realizes she has the capability to do anything.

Ten Forward was quiet as it was still somewhat early in the evening and Geordi went up to the bar to order their drinks.

As Sophie clutched Data’s pinky finger, she looked around at the tables to see different officers laughing and talking or playing a game, but spied one officer sitting by himself with a glass of dark purple liquid in front of him.

She then looked up at Data and asked, “Daddy? May I go sit with Uncle Worf, please? He’s all alone.”

Data glanced over at Worf’s table before nodding his approval. “You may, darling.” Before he let her go, however, he quickly remembered a conversation from earlier that day. “Do not ask him about weapons.”

Sophie giggled and quietly tottered over to the table where she immediately climbed into the chair across from the Klingon, sitting on her knees and folding her hands on the table.

Worf held his passive glare intact as he acknowledged her presence. “Good afternoon, Miss LaForge. I trust you are well.”

Sophie sighed dramatically. “I’ve had a hell of a day,” she declared.

Worf’s frozen, stoic glare immediately blinked with surprise and bewilderment. However, he merely cleared his throat, saying, “Where are your fathers?”

“They’re getting chocolate milk for me,” she answered cheerfully. “Guinan makes the best. Do you think so, Uncle Worf?”

“I do not like chocolate,” he replied quickly before taking a sip of his drink.

“What’s that?” she inquired, trying to lean forward on the table to get a closer look.

He swallowed his portion and sighed, refreshed. “It is prune juice.”

She wrinkled her nose. “It looks yucky.”

Worf raised an eyebrow. “It is not…yucky. It is a warrior’s drink.”

“A warrior's drink?”

Worf grinned. “Yes. A warrior. A person who is highly skilled in combat,” he explained. “And efficient with weapons. Klingons are known to be the most accomplished warriors in the galaxy.”

Sophie was now intrigued. “Are warriors brave?”

“It is expected of them, should the need for a battle arise.”

“A battle?” she asked, wrinkling her nose again. “Like a fight?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“But Daddy says I shouldn’t fight.”

He looked at her, and, knowing what she and her fathers were up against once they reached Earth, he leaned in closer, saying, “There are some battles you cannot avoid, even if you tried. You must be prepared to defend yourself and to defend what you know is right, even when there are others who wish to stand in your way. That kind of bravery makes you a warrior.”

Sophie bit her lip in a moment of deep thought. “Excuse me, please,” she said, suddenly, and hopped off her chair and trotted to Geordi.

Worf watched as she gently tugged her father’s pant leg and said something to him that made him give her a strange look. He soon relented by shrugging at her and then telling something to Guinan.

Sophie ran back over to Worf’s table and sat quietly, her hands now folded in her lap. Worf gave her a curious look of his own when Geordi arrived with her order. 

“One small…prune juice,” he groaned with slight disgust. “Have at it, kiddo.”

He and Worf watched as Sophie put the glass to her nose and sniffed. Her nose crinkled but she raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. She smacked loudly as she scrunched her face in revulsion, to which Geordi smiled, bemused. 

Before he suggested taking it away, however, Sophie put the glass to her lips again and quickly began to take big gulps of the thick purple liquid, and then lightly placed the glass back on the table when every last drop was gone.

She smacked her lips and sighed as she beamed confidently at Worf.

He gave her a proud smile, lifted his glass to her and said to Geordi, “She is ready.”


End file.
